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Israel Elections: Results and Analysis

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief challenger, Isaac Herzog of the center-left Zionist Union, appeared to win about the same number of seats in Parliament on Tuesday, according to Israeli news media and exit polls.

Expect a protracted and messy process to form the next governing coalition after official results are announced.

The New York Times correspondents Jodi Rudoren, Isabel Kershner and Diaa Hadid provided updates and analysis from Israel.

Moshe Kahlon, leader of the center-right Kulanu party, is a former Likud minister who broke away from the party in part out of frustration with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Credit Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Moshe Kahlon, the leader of the Kulanu party, which received nine or 10 seats in Parliament, exit polls showed:

We want practical solutions. Friends, in places where others gave up, we promised to fight and to win. This election campaign, to my regret, reached levels that we don’t remember. It created rifts and polarization among our people. We stand here on this stage, I stand here as your representative. And I say: Now is the time to heal, to unite; it is not the time for rifts. Now is the time to do what is best for all of us. This evening is about recognizing the good. An evening of modesty and good conduct. I am not arrogant, and I certainly won’t gloat.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief challenger, Isaac Herzog, appeared to win about the same number of seats in Parliament on Tuesday, according to Israeli media and exit polls.
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March 17, 2015

As Israelis go to the polls, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stance is being seen as a push to appeal to right-wing voters. His chief challenger supports the two-state solution.
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March 16, 2015